


Red Honeycomb

by gundamexia34



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Genderswap
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-23
Updated: 2019-02-13
Packaged: 2019-10-15 03:36:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17521247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gundamexia34/pseuds/gundamexia34
Summary: Naruto is a descendant of the Kamizuru clan! In an effort to help him learn to control his bloodline, Hiruzen Sarutobi sends the boy to live with the Aburame clan, where he meets a certain heiress. Will love bloom between these rival clans, or will their blood run true?





	1. Chapter 1

4-year-old Naruto Uzumaki looked in curiosity at a beehive, its tiny inhabitants flying in and out at a pace that was very frenzied. He had heard that bees were rather aggressive if you got too close, but here he was, sitting at the base of the tree it was attached to, perfectly fine. He saw a single bee land on his hand and slowly brought his hand up to his face.

 

“Huh, you’re a friendly little guy aren’t you?” The blond boy asked with a smile. The bee buzzed, and Naruto heard a voice in his head to his surprise.

 

 _“Queen?”_ it said, it was tinny and seemed to lack any true tone. Naruto looked around, and didn’t see anyone nearby he looked back at the bee in suspicion.

  
“Was that you?” He asked quietly, not wanting to seem crazy if anybody walked into the area.

 

 _“Affirmative. Confusion, Queen here, yet Queen in hive.”_ The bee said, making Naruto scrunch up his face as he struggled to decipher the message.

 

“Are you asking if I’m your queen? If so, I’m not. I’m male after all, so I would be more of a king.”

 

 _“Understood.”_ And with that, the tiny little soldier flew back up to the hive and re-entered his home. Naruto smiled, it seemed that he had made a friend. With that in mind, he put his hands behind the back of his head and closed his eyes to rest.

* * *

About an hour later, a villager wandered into the park and noticed the so-called ‘demon’ napping under a beehive. With a malicious smile, he looked around and found a decent sized stone, took a few steps back, aimed carefully, and threw. 

* * *

Naruto shot from sleep to wakefulness in an instant as something somewhat heavy and extremely slimy fell onto his head. He screamed as he realized that it was the beehive, barely noticing a man’s laughter in the distance. Covering his face, he braced himself for extreme pain, only to notice that it never came.

 

Opening his eyes, he saw the entire swarm flying around in a frenzy, but not a single one came close. As he lowered his hands, one bee came in and landed on one.

 

 _“King rules now.”_ He heard the voice from before say, making him blink as he realized what was happening. Somehow, someway, something had knocked down the hive and now the bees were saying that they would follow his orders.

 

He heard the laughter once more and turned to see a man pointing and jeering at him.

 

Smirking he shouted out., “Hey, mister, that wasn’t very nice! Let’s see how you like it. Get him, guys!”

 

And with that, the swarm surged forward and attacked. Soon it was the man who was screaming in both fear and pain as he was repeatedly stung. However, Naruto quickly noticed that the bees which succeeded in stinging fell to the ground and never got up, so he called them back.

 

In the end, a little over half the swarm came back alive. The queen had apparently never left his side, so she was fine. The man, however, was covered in red, almost iridescent bumps across his body and arms. With a smile on his face, Naruto walked towards his apartment, the bees following him as the queen landed on the back of his hand.

 

“You guys can come with me, I’ve got a decent sized garden on the roof of my place you can help with.” The blond boy said. 

* * *

**_[Later That Afternoon]_ **

 

Naruto watched as the queen bee started to make her hive in the corner of his living room above the front door. It was going _really_ slowly, but the fact that there were so many soldiers and workers still alive and helping did speed things up a little. Still, he had no idea how long it would take, so he simply shrugged and went to bed. 

* * *

While the boy slept, however, the occupant of the seal on his belly was pondering. Typically, the only animals that could stand to be near a Bijuu, even when sealed, were those whose forms they took on. In her case, that would be vulpines, otherwise known as foxes.

 

However, for some reason, it seemed that her host had a way with bees. And given that said host had such a horrid life due to her actions, she was willing to aid his small friends.

 

As a single bee landed on Naruto’s body, the Kyuubi carefully pushed some of her chakra through the seal and used it to enhance the little creature.

 

First, she gave it additional stingers, and the ability to regrow them if given even a mere moment to pull back. Then she enhanced its sense of smell, allowing it to locate pheromones and pollen more easily. Next came its sight, adding the capacity for thermal and night vision. Finally, she gave it larger wings, tougher carapace, and increased intelligence.

 

After making sure that all of these traits would appear in the next generation that this bee sired with the queen, she sent it on its way. 

* * *

Within moments of the modified worker arriving at the hive, the Kyuubi’s chakra spread out and changed all of the other workers and soldiers to match it, effectively removing the separation between the two. The queen gained an increased egg capacity as well as a few stingers of her own.

 

The changed bees moved with such speed that within the next 2 hours, the hive was complete and already generating more larvae than it could handle. Thus the hive began to spread, and had soon covered Naruto’s entire ceiling…

 

...In Red Honeycomb.


	2. Chapter 2

**_[3 Days Later]_ **

Hiruzen Sarutobi was in his office, dealing with the bane of his, and every other leader’s, very existence. The world’s greatest evil, that has plagued it for centuries. The one thing that makes even the shinigami itself shiver in fear…

...Paperwork.

He shuddered as he stamped and signed another scroll, feeling his soul scream in agony as another small piece of it was ripped away.

_ ‘Please, dear gods above, save me from this hell!’ _ He mentally begged. His prayers were seemingly answered by the opening of his office door. A blonde blur came through and went around the desk before slamming into Hiruzen’s waist, knocking the air from his lungs.

“Hi, Jiji!” The blur, now revealed to be one Naruto Uzumaki, called as he hugged his surrogate grandfather’s waist.

“Hello, Naruto-Kun.” Hiruzen said with a chuckle as he regained his breath, “What brings you to my office today?”

“I made a ton of new friends!” Naruto exclaimed happily, “They don’t have names, really, but they’ve been really nice to me!”

To say that Hiruzen was confused was a bit of an understatement. Though he was happy that Naruto had made some friends, he couldn’t understand how someone could not have a name.

Voicing this thought made Naruto scrunch up his face, then he responded, “Why would a bee get a name? There are so many of them born so quickly that you’d never be able to keep track!”

Hiruzen’s confusion turned to concern as he put a hand to Naruto’s forehead to check for a fever, “Are you feeling alright Naruto-Kun?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, why?” The blond’s childlike innocence, while normally cute, was concerning Hiruzen even further.

“Naruto...You can’t be friends with bees, it’s just not possible.” Hiruzen said, trying to gently break the boy of this ‘delusion’.

“Why not?” Naruto asked, making the aged leader pause. Not because he didn’t know, but simply because he never thought he would have this discussion.

“Well, for one thing, how can you tell one bee apart from another?” Hiruzen tried first.

“I don’t need to! When I call, they come!” Naruto replied, this time getting a surprised blink.

“Naruto, what do you mean?” Now Hiruzen was curious. Bees were wild animals that had little to no intelligence, how would they know if Naruto called, and why would they come to him?

“Here, I’ll show you!” The blond boy said, running over to the window and opening it. The 3rd Hokage felt a minor build up of chakra, so small that he nearly missed it.

Then the boy whistled.

It was a sharp, piercing sound. Joining him at the window, Hiruzen followed his gaze to the building which housed Naruto’s apartment. From the building, something rose into the air.

It started as a trickle, barely noticeable from the distance. Then the tendril became thicker and then thickened again. Within moments, there was a nearly fluorescent red cloud in the sky above the building. A cloud which was heading towards them.

Hiruzen’s first instinct was to try and grab Naruto and get to the floor, but a single glance at the boy showed a bright smile on his face. Bracing himself, Hiruzen saw the cloud stop just outside the window. Naruto held out a hand, and a single  _ massive _ insect with a vague resemblance to a honey bee flew down and landed in his palm.

Smiling proudly, Naruto looked down as the ‘bee’ gave off a loud buzz.

“Hey, yourself little buddy. I mainly called you to prove a point to Jiji.” Naruto said to the old man’s confusion.

“Naruto? Are you...Talking to it?” Hiruzen hesitantly asked.

“Yeah, for some reason I can understand him and the others.” Naruto said, giggling as the ‘bee’ did something to his hand, “Hey, quit licking me, that tickles!”

All Hiruzen could do was stare, as his face took on a constipated expression.

“Hokage-Sama.” A new, masculine yet toneless voice spoke up, making both said leader and Naruto turn to see an ANBU in a grasshopper mask standing in front of the leader’s desk.

“Firstly, I apologize for breaking protocol.” He said, getting a nod from Hiruzen, “If I may remove my mask, I can contribute to this discussion much more easily.”

“You may do so.” Hiruzen said with another nod, this time getting one in return as the ANBU reached up and pulled off his mask to reveal pale skin and eyes covered by sunglasses.

“Thank you, Hokage-Sama. Speaking as an Aburame, we had a rival clan in Iwa known as the Kamizuru who specialized in using bees. As Naruto is an orphan, is it possible one or both of his parents were members or descendants of that clan?” The man said, making Hiruzen put a hand to his chin in thought.

_ ‘It’s definitely not Kushina, both her parents were Uzumaki, albeit from different branches. Minato, though…’ _ Hiruzen mentally pondered,  _ ‘Minato was an orphan, much like Naruto. He, however, never discovered who his parents were, so…’ _

“It’s certainly possible.” Hiruzen said as he looked at his agent, “Summon Shibi to my office.”

15 minutes later, Naruto and the Hokage were catching up on the time since their previous meeting, there was a knock on the office door.

“Enter.” Hiruzen called.

The door opened, revealing a man who was eerily similar to the ANBU agent from before. Hiruzen easily recognized Shibi Aburame, head of his clan. He also noticed, if only due to working with the man on the battlefield, how tense the man was.

“You called for me, Hokage-Sama?” Shibi asked, his voice, muffled as it was due to his high collar, held the slightest of edges that only Hiruzen picked up.

“Indeed I did, Shibi.” Hiruzen said with a nod, “You may be at ease, the bees outside the window shall not harm you or anyone else...I think.” At the last words, he turned to Naruto, who looked at the back of his hand where a single bee sat calmly.

The bee gave a few short buzzes, which made Naruto smile as he looked back up.

“He says as long as nobody attacks anyone else, they’ll stay put.” The blond ‘translated’ getting a nod from Hiruzen and making Shibi raise both brows.

Hiruzen turned back to Shibi, “As I’m sure you can see, Naruto has awakened a bloodline that, according to one of your clansmen, belongs to a clan which was very similar to your own. I have called you here to ask if you could teach Naruto to control his ‘swarm’ in a more efficient manner.”

Shibi gave a hesitant glance to the swarm outside the window, his past experiences with the Kamizuru clan coming to mind. However, one look at the small blond child sitting in the chair, happily chattering away towards the bee on his hand as it occasionally buzzed back at him, made him pause.

The child’s mannerisms reminded him of many other young children of his clan, who would sometimes turn to their hives for friendship when they found that many other children of the village would not associate with them. Among those numbers, two, in particular, stood out. One was his daughter…

...And the other was Shibi himself.

    Taking a deep breath, the clan head turned to the Hokage and spoke.

     "Hokage-Sama, it is only logical that I say yes. The fact that it would be a pleasure, however, plays a rather large part as well."

     And thus, Naruto’s smile seemed to light up the room.


	3. Chapter 3

Shibi gave a small smile as he saw Naruto looking at the Kikaichu flying around his clan’s compound in awe. The boy’s swarm had dismissed themselves back to their hive, save for the single bee who remained on his hand.

That said hive apparently occupied the entirety of his apartment ceiling was a concern. Shibi had made a note of that fact and quietly suggested that the Hokage buy out the building so that the hive could expand further without interfering with the lives of the other inhabitants any more than it already had.

Suddenly, Shibi was dragged away from his thoughts by the sound of a quiet feminine voice.

“Tou-San.” it said tonelessly, as was the norm for most of his clan. Looking forward, he realized that he had inadvertently led Naruto and himself to his home while lost in thought. Standing in the doorway was a girl of about Naruto’s age in a gray jacket with a high collar. Said jacket, however, was left open, allowing for the view of a black shirt and brown skirt. It also allowed for the view of her face, which was unconcealed except for a small pair of blue tinted glasses that sat on the bridge of her nose, allowing green eyes to peek out from above them that went well with her black hair.

“Hello, Hotaru-Chan.” Shibi responded, walking up and reaching down to ruffle her hair. Hotaru pouted and gently swatted his arm.

“Please stop, Tou-San.” She said. Hotaru was unique among his clan in that she was not hesitant at all to express herself in all manners except her vocal tone. Shibi supposed she got that from her mother, who was from a civilian family.

“Who is this boy, Tou-San, and why is he here?” Shibi’s daughter asked, once more knocking him from his thoughts. The man shook his head, realizing that he needed to stay more focused.

“This is Naruto Uzumaki. He has recently discovered that he is of a bloodline very similar to our own and the Hokage has asked me to aid him in his training.” Shibi responded, getting Naruto to focus in front of him upon hearing his name.

“Naruto, this is my daughter Hotaru. She will be joining in on our training sessions.” Shibi explained, getting a nod from the blond as he approached and held out a hand.

“It’s nice to meet you.”The boy said, not realizing that the hand he held out was the one with the bee sitting on it. Noticing this, Hotaru let one of her Kikaichu onto the back of her hand as well and then grasped his.

Once their hands were locked, the two bugs crawled to the top of their hands and started circling each other, seemingly sizing the other insect up much like two dogs upon their first meeting. After a few moments of this, both bugs returned to their ‘hosts’ and started buzzing, making said children separate their hands and look at their allies to better listen.

“Huh, he says that you care a lot about your hive.” Naruto said, getting a nod from Hotaru as she listened to her Kikaichu.

“My friend says that despite only gaining their loyalty a few days ago, you have done a lot for your own.” Hotaru responded, getting a sheepish chuckle from the blond.

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far.” He said.

Shibi smiled as he saw the children getting along. However, he was curious as to why Hotaru had been standing at the door. Voicing this thought earned a smile from his daughter.

“Mother asked me to find you and let you know that dinner is nearly ready. Should I ask her to set out an extra plate?” Hotaru said with a smile.

Before Naruto could protest, the sound of his stomach growling was heard quite clearly. This earned a rare chuckle from Shibi, who looked over at his daughter.

“I would take that as a yes.”

* * *

 Dinner in the Aburame clan head’s home was normally a rather quiet affair. Not so on this night, as Naruto happily chattered away at the family, learning to read them more easily and generally bringing smiles to their faces. It was rare for Shibi to grin, but Naruto's bright and cheery personality was downright contagious.

“There's one thing I don't understand, however.” Hotaru said, her toneless voice gaining a slight hint of curiosity, “If you didn't tell me that your ‘swarm’ was made of honeybees, I would never recognize them as such. What happened to make them so different?”

Silence reigned for a moment as Shibi and his wife exchanged nervous glances. Shibi had his suspicions about how it happened, but he had not managed to confirm them as of yet. He had no desire to break the news of Naruto's burden to either of the children.

“You know, I'm honestly not sure.” Naruto said, looking down to the bee who had yet to leave the back of his hand, “What about you, buddy? Any ideas?”

The bee buzzed a few times, making Naruto start scratching his head.

“He says that he doesn’t really know the specifics. All he knows that he landed on me last night, then he started seeing a red haze. When the haze faded, he and the rest of the hive were changed.” The blond boy translated, getting a thoughtful hum from Hotaru.

“I see, now I am intrigued. Tou-San, do you have any ideas?” She asked, to which Shibi struggled to figure out how to answer.

On the one hand, the knowledge of the Kyuubi was an S-Class secret. On the other, however, there was no logical way to explain it without exposing the said secret.  A glance at his wife showed she was just as anxious.

Thankfully, Naruto’s swarm appeared in a frenzy outside the window at that exact moment. The bee on the blond’s hand flew over and joined hem for a moment, before immediately flying over and frantically buzzing at its ‘master’.

“Whoa, whoa there little buddy!” Naruto exclaimed, “Slow down, what’s going on?”

The buzzed once more, this time at a somewhat slower pace. Immediately after it stopped, Naruto’s eyes widened as he shot to his feet and ran to the door. Following him out of concern, Shibi chased the boy all the way to his apartment building.

Or rather, what used to be his apartment building.

Where once, there stood a sturdy, if slightly shabby housing complex, now rested a flaming husk of wood littered with large chunks of stone, much like the area around it.

Naruto fell to his knees, tears forming in his eyes as he realized that he had lost his only home. Soon, drunken laughter was heard, and a man in a chunin vest with a sake bottle in his hand stumbled out of an alley as he pointed and jeered at Naruto.

“Hey, demon brat!! How’s it feel to lose your home and everything you ever owned?” The man took another swig from his bottle before continuing, “It hurts, doesn’t it? No, it’s absolutely agonizing! Now you know how I felt when you so casually stepped on my house when you attacked four years ago!”

By all rights, Shibi should have stepped in before that point, but something held him back. He would later say that it was most likely because of the shock that someone could be so illogical that they would do this to an innocent child. Either way, his delay in action had dire consequences. 

* * *

It is said that when a Jinchuuriki and the Bijuu they contained are in sync, they can unleash a terrifying, yet awe-inspiring power.

At that moment Naruto and his tenant felt the exact same emotions. First came the shock that Naruto had lost his home. Then they were assaulted by the disbelief at the reason that the chunin had done this. And finally…

They felt **RAGE.**

* * *

Shibi had just regained his sensibilities and was about to intervene when he felt  _it._

It started small, a mere trickle at best, but there was no mistaking  _that_ for anything else. The feeling was nothing compared to what he had felt 4 years ago, at least at first. That changed as Naruto began to glow a bloody crimson, his features becoming more feral as his whisker marks thickened. Yet despite his obviously enraged state…

...The boy was smiling.

It was not a nice smile, no, far from it. This was the smile of a crazed person, someone who had just lost everything and had absolutely nothing to lose. The blond raised his head, his pupils glowing a malignant red as the whites of his eyes became blacker than even the deepest of abysses. The smile never left Naruto(?)’s face as he raised his head to the sky…

...and whistled.

The Hokage had described the small build-up of chakra that had preceded the swarm’s appearance. The Whistle that had attracted them had been sharp and piercing, but that was all.

This whistle...Was different. Its pitch was low and ominous, ringing out as if it were the sound of a church’s bells. The normally cheery noise held nothing but pure malice and sent shivers down Shibi’s spine.

And then... _They c_ ame.

Shibi had expected a swarm, and that was exactly what he got. But there was nothing that could have prepared him for the sight that greeted his eyes.

They came from the wreckage of the building, their forms glowing as they surrounded their master. The bees were the same ones that had answered Naruto’s call before, but this time, there were others.

Shbi would forever be haunted by the sight of a swarm over 10x the size of the previous one, turning the group into an absolute  _hoard._ Their flaming iridescent red bodies joined their brethren, soon igniting the entire group as they circled around Naruto.

And as the boy stood in the center of this hoard, his shirt slowly burning off as three glowing red chakra tails emerged from his lower back…He still continued to smile.

He then spoke a single word, one single word, the tone of which actually managed to make Shibi shudder as it seemed to be echoed by not just one voice, but by thousands.

**“...Go.”**


	4. Chapter 4

Naruto Uzumaki was laying in a hospital bed, the monitor that watched his pulse dutifully beeping away as its ‘ward’ slept. Well, in truth, ‘slept’ was not really the proper word. To say that Naruto was sleeping would imply that he was at least somewhat healthy.

In reality, Naruto was lucky to be alive. By calling upon three tails of his tenant’s chakra, even if it was freely given, Naruto had done an incredible amount of damage to his body. The corrosive nature of Bijuu chakra when not properly guided meant that he had internal organ damage, and his skin was peeled away to the point where even the slightest bump risked causing a large wound to open.

Luckily, the Med-Nin were able to jumpstart Naruto’s healing factor enough that his skin immediately started to heal. Within hours, he was back to the slightly tanned look that had preceded the incident, albeit a shade or two darker than before. The rest of the damage to his body, however, would take far longer to heal.

It was in this manner that two weeks passed, with the monotony only being broken by the visits of Ayame and Teuchi Ichiraku (the owners of the blond boy’s favorite restaurant who viewed him as a little brother and second son respectively), The Hokage (when he had the time, he was still fighting the root of all evil after all), and most surprisingly of all...Shibi and Hotaru Aburame. The Hokage had asked why they visited him, and Hotaru explained that Naruto was the first human her age to treat her, not as a freak or a superior, but as an equal and a friend.

On Monday, two weeks and a day since the disaster that took away Naruto’s home, Hiruzen was sitting in the boy’s room, watching the boy rest and recover. The aged hokage cursed the fool who let slip the truth of Naruto’s burden to the public. The aged leader had done what he could to control the information, but by the time he had become aware of the leak, it was already all over the village.

More than that, however, he cursed himself. He did so for both telling the council at all, and for not telling Naruto sooner. The boy had never truly asked why he was hated, but Hiruzen could see the hurt and questioning look in the blond child’s eyes at times. The aged leader had wanted so badly for Naruto to have at least a chance at a normal childhood, however, so he held his tongue.

Now, though? Now it was as clear as day that the civilians, and even some ignorant ninja as the incident proved, would never give the boy that chance. As such, Hiruzen had decided that he would tell Naruto the truth about the Kyuubi as soon as things calmed down enough that the shock wouldn’t give the boy a heart attack.

He still remembered the scene he had encountered that night.

* * *

**_[Flashback: Two Weeks Ago]_ **

Hiruzen was surprised when he failed to hear the explosion. To be fair, none of the ANBU or other ninja heard it either. In fact, not even the civilians heard the explosion, though that may have been more due to learning to tune out the loud explosions from the training grounds.

The first sign of trouble was when his secretary gasped and dropped the pile of paperwork she was carrying and pointed out the window. The Hokage had turned, seen the rising smoke, and snapped to his feet with wide eyes. Calling for his guards to follow, he had jumped down to an adjacent roof and ran to the fire.

Unfortunately, it seemed that despite his best efforts, Hiruzen’s age and lack of time to train since taking the Hokage post had dulled his abilities including his speed. Halfway to the spot, a little after he realized with horror exactly _which_ building had been destroyed, he sensed the presence of the one thing he feared would make an appearance...Kyuubi’s chakra.

By the time the hokage and his guards arrived, Naruto and his bees were covered in the malicious beast’s red cloak, the latter’s joined by the brilliant orange and yellow of fire and flames. The former blond, now redheaded boy’s voice gave a command that preceded the most terrifying sight in the Hokage’s life thus far.

The swarm, no, the _hoard_ of flaming bees surrounding Naruto surged forward and began to attack, their stings and bites seemingly injecting fire directly into the foolish chunin’s veins as the said internal pathways started to glow red underneath his skin. The man’s screams were reminiscent of those of the damned in hell, before his skin started to boil and bubble, bursting from his body and violently splattering blood all over the ground. Soon his muscles started to distend and stretch before unraveling, leaving behind nothing but a pile of blood red string, bones, and organs, all of which soon liquified.

In the end, there was no sign of the man save for a single red puddle on the ground that darkened into a red crust which blew away on the wind.

**_[Flashback: Over]_ **

* * *

The hoard had taken off into the skies soon after that as Naruto passed out.  Their destination was unknown, save for a single bee that had flown in the window soon after the boy had been settled in the room. A quick glance from Hiruzen showed that, indeed, the bee still lingered in the corner of the ceiling.

Shaking his head, Hiruzen looked back at Naruto, only for his eyes to narrow. In the few moments that he had been in thought, something had changed. He couldn’t put his finger on what it was for some reason.

_‘Let’s see, the heart monitor perhaps?’_ The aged Hokage listened for a moment, then shook his head again, _‘No, the rate of the tones is the same.’_

For a few moments, Hiruzen checked various factors in his mind against what he was seeing and hearing. Yet, try as he might, the old man could not put his finger on it until he felt a breeze. Looking over to the window, he saw the curtains blowing in the wind.

_‘Wasn’t that shut?’_ The wizened warrior narrowed his eyes further as he approached the entrance/exit to the outside world. The first thing that he noticed was that the window was, indeed, still shut. Scratching his head, he turned and saw that the air conditioning had kicked on.

Sighing in a mix of relief and frustration at his own paranoia, Hiruzen went to the door of the room and opened it þreveal the ANBU agent in charge of guarding the room for that shift.

“I’m going back to my office.” He explained to the snake masked agent, getting a nod, “Your orders remain the same, nobody goes in without my seal of approval and even then, not without being watched until they leave.”

Another nod was his answer, and so he left to go back to the battlefield where his _evil_ opponent.  Hiruzen shuddered, _‘The man who invented bureaucracy should have been burned at the stake!’_

* * *

Unbeknownst to Hiruzen, ‘his’ ANBU was not who he claimed. The true shinobi who bore the ‘Snake’ codename and mask was currently unconscious, bound, and gagged in his home. Danzo had heard of Naruto’s bloodline and had decided that he should Eliminate the boy before Iwa came knocking on their door to ‘reclaim a member of one of their clans’. Thus, he had sent one of his ROOT agents to inject poison into Naruto’s IV drip.

The door opened with nary a sound, and the agent moved on silent feet to his target. Pulling out a needle, he pierced the bag above the liquid. With a single, smooth press of the plunger, his job was done.

As he left through the window, he remembered what his superior had claimed about the poison. It was a powerful one that caused a blood clot which would slowly travel to the heart and cause a heart attack. Normally, a few drops would be enough, but with a jinchuriki level healing rate, at least 10 milliliters would need to be slowly applied so that the bijuu inside would be caught off guard and be unable to remove the entire clot in time by the point at which it would be found. 

* * *

Despite Danzo’ best efforts, however, even he could not afford to forget one single thing…

The luck of Naruto Uzumaki. The boy was truly both blessed and cursed, as although he had lost his home, he had, in return, gained a true friend. This friendship would lead to many others. And those friendships, mayhaps, would lead to _more_.


End file.
